The $159 Amazfit Verge smartwatch is now up for pre-order in the U.S.

Amazfit made its formal debut in the U.S. earlier this year with the $79 Bip, and the company is launching its latest smartwatch in the country, the $159 Verge. The fitness-focused smartwatch comes with GPS + GLONASS for tracking workouts indepently of your phone, and it can automatically identify 11 forms of activities, including running, walking, climbing, cycling, tennis, and more.

There's a 1.3-inch AMOLED screen with a resolution of 360 x 360 backed by Gorilla Glass 3 coating, and the Verge is powered by a dual-core processor and 512MB of RAM. You also get a heart rate sensor, IP68 dust and water resistance, and notification as well as call mirroring on your wrist via Bluetooth. The smartwatch also offers NFC, but as it runs a custom OS and not Wear OS, it's unclear if the feature will work with Google Pay.

The smartwatch is manufactured by Huami, the Chinese wearable brand that also makes Xiaomi's popular Mi Band fitness trackers. Huami has been manufacturing fitness bands for Xiaomi for several years now, and it has branched out in recent years to sell wearable products directly to consumers via the Amazfit label.

The Amazfit Verge is now up for pre-order from the link below, with sales kicking off from December 18. I'll have more to share about the smartwatch — including a full review — in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.